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Health and Safety Initiative Begun in 1996

The origins of the Robert Wood Johnson’s (RWJ) Urban Health Initiative can be traced to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. At that time, RWJ, whose mission was to improve health and health care, recognized that the nation’s biggest cities were underrepresented in grants. In order to correct this situation, the concept of an Urban Health Initiative was developed specifically to address the health and safety of children across an entire urban area.

RWJ developed a fresh approach in the granting process, including the focus and length of grants. A major factor in choosing Detroit was the potential for success. “If the program succeeded there, the group felt, it would send a very encouraging message to the rest of the country about the potential for progress even under the most difficult circumstances.”¹

Five cities – Baltimore, Detroit, Oakland, Philadelphia and Richmond -- received implementation grants in order to improve the health and safety of youth.

Detroit’s initiative, begun in 1996, was known as The Youth Connection. From its inception, its purpose was to create “systems change” or establishing lasting change in policy, funding and procedures of various institutions in order that 50% of the school-aged population in Detroit, Mt. Clemens and Pontiac are involved in quality after-school programs.

From 1996 through 2001, the Youth Connection, part of the Urban Health Initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conducted its efforts to improve the health and safety of youth by providing increased school-aged youth participation in after-school programs. The Youth Connection was embraced by the City of Detroit as a valued asset that provides access to national local expertise, human and technological resources and other supports. Sharing a common strategy for improving the health and safety of youth, the collaboration between the Mayor’s Time Initiative and the Youth Connection marked an important public and private partnership that has been beneficial to children and families of Detroit.

¹ “The Origins of the Urban Health Initiative,” one of a series of occasional papers by the National Program Office of the Urban Health Initiative, Seattle.